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Which standalone DAC has the following features?

Nov 11, 2011 at 11:46 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 8
fomoz

fomoz

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Hello,

I'm looking for a full-size DAC/headphone amp/pre-amp and has the following features:

- Truly balanced (dual DAC chips)
- Optical line-in (TOSLINK)
- Balanced XLR outputs for active speakers (in the back)
- Fully discrete headphone amp, unbalanced headphone jack in the front
- Dedicated power supply (not a wall wart)

I doesn't need USB, if I can save money by not having it, that would be great.

The budget is open, I guess let's try to keep it under $1,000 if possible.

What are my options?

Thanks!
 
Nov 11, 2011 at 1:21 PM Post #2 of 8
Close to what you mention, less than $500 and killer sound for the price - Cambridge Audio DacMagic.

While it doesn't have dual RCA out, it has one single-ended and one balanced output.
 
The only reason you might want a preamp with active speakers is in case you need a phono stage, or volume control.
 
 
Quote:
fomoz said:
Hello,
I'm looking for a full-size, standalone DAC has the following features:
- Optical line-in (TOSLINK)
- 2 or more RCA L/R outputs
- no headphone amp
I doesn't need USB, if I can save money by not having it, that would be great.
The budget is open, I guess let's try to keep it under $1,000 if possible. If I can get something decent for $500 or less, that's cool too.
What are my options?
Also, how important is having a pre-amp if I get some active speakers? Can I just have the DAC drive them and control the volume on my computer? Can you please recommend me some pre-amps?
Thanks!
Click to expand...



 
 
Nov 11, 2011 at 1:32 PM Post #3 of 8
mwilson said:
Close to what you mention, less than $500 and killer sound for the price - Cambridge Audio DacMagic.


While it doesn't have dual RCA out, it has one single-ended and one balanced output.

The only reason you might want a preamp with active speakers is in case you need a phono stage, or volume control.
Click to expand...


Thanks, that actually looks like exactly what I need!

Can you please explain to me how to connect it to something like the Dynaudio BM 6A MK II and the Dynaudio BM 14S? How many wires do I need?
 
Nov 11, 2011 at 1:51 PM Post #4 of 8
From what I recall, the DacMagic doesn't have volume control. You might be able to control the volume in the digital domain (ie from your source, before the DAC) but it comes at a cost to audio performace due to bit depth loss. You might have to insert some sort of attenuating device (be it preamp or similar) between the DAC and the speakers.
 
Nov 11, 2011 at 2:00 PM Post #5 of 8
mwilson said:
From what I recall, the DacMagic doesn't have volume control. You might be able to control the volume in the digital domain (ie from your source, before the DAC) but it comes at a cost to audio performace due to bit depth loss. You might have to insert some sort of attenuating device (be it preamp or similar) between the DAC and the speakers.
Click to expand...


That's what I thought. Do you know of any DACs which have this built in, as well as XLR outputs? Or should I look for a balanced pre-amp?
 
Nov 11, 2011 at 6:42 PM Post #7 of 8
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